It's almost impossible to watch a dance performance without wondering for a moment what goes on behind the scenes in the dancers' love lives. Between the caressing, the pained expressions and the very tight holds, the likelihood of love goes beyond whatever is being performed on stage. In this week's episode of AOL's City. Ballet web series, those questions are finally answered, and it's just as gossipy as you might hope. The New York City Ballet dancers interviewed explain their relationships are basically inevitable, given the interactions they have on a daily basis, and the unique stresses only other ballet dancers can understand take that as a warning, mere humans. We love the inside look at these dancers' real lives, and hope there's a follow-up featuring the gay relationships at the company too.

Royal Opera House is streaming free ballet and opera online during coronavirus outbreak



Royal Opera House is streaming free ballet and opera online during coronavirus - Classic FM
I've been twirling in pastel tutus since I was 2 years old, so I'm the first to admit being a dancer is incredible for the mind, body and soul. Something about gracefully rising into an arabesque in your pointe shoes makes you feel as if the whole world pauses for a minute. Your back is arched, and your gaze is up to the sky. The spotlight shines down on you, casting a dainty shadow onstage.


Alexander Campbell
Some forums can only be seen by registered members. View Poll Results : Would you date a male ballet dancer? Yes 18



The origins of ballet are well-known, but defining ballet is a little more difficult. Almost any definition that's not hopelessly generic and could cover almost anything will also exclude even well-known ballets. It may be that the best we can do with a definition amounts to not much more than Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's comment about pornography, that although he couldn't define it, "I know it when I see it. Gradually, ballet spread beyond its court origins. By the 17th century there were professional ballet academies in several Western European cities and notably in Paris, where the ballet was first presented on stage rather than in court.